


Cast the First

by herbailiwick



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Childhood, Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-09
Updated: 2012-12-09
Packaged: 2017-11-20 17:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/587694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herbailiwick/pseuds/herbailiwick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><a href="http://johncroftianlullaby.tumblr.com/post/36791962147/winter-drawing-writing-challenge">Winter Writing/Drawing Challenge</a> Day 07 - Sledding</p><p>Sam has never been sledding before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cast the First

Sam had been looking out the window at the hill of snow all morning. 

"I've never been sledding," he said over Lucky Charms. 

"I'm a little busy right now," John said gruffly after a moment, as if only just realizing Sam had been talking. "I might take you later, alright?"

Sam didn't think he would, though. Dean looked over and saw the resignation, recognized and understood it. "I could take him," he said.

"It could be dangerous," John said. He picked up his journal and headed for the back room. "Maybe later, we'll all go," he said. 

Sam kept staring out at the hill. 

***

"This is the first snow," Dean finally said. "There'll be others."

Sam didn't say anything else, just slunk off, probably to go mope, while Dean started to watch TV for a little while.

***

"Dean?"

Dean looked up. "What?"

"Never mind." 

***

Sam pulled a chair up to the window and sat, watching as a group of kids started sledding. 

He sighed.

"It's not that fun anyway," Dean said.

" _They're_ having fun," Sam said.

"They don't know what they're talking about." Dean looked out the window too. He started changing the channel on the TV to find something Sam would watch. "Hey, look!" he said. "Hey, Sam, come watch this."

It worked, but only for a while.

***

"I didn't get to go sledding," Sam said that night.

And Dean said, "No. You didn't."

The next day, they were in a place where it hadn't snowed yet. Dean hoped Sam would forget.

***

Sam never forgot anything. 

***

"Dean, do you remember that hill by Brook Street? I think kids will try to sled there."

"So?"

Sam looked at him with too much longing for such a little boy.

"Sledding's not that great."

***

"Dean, Dad's not here. What if we just went out and looked?"

"It's cold."

"It's not _that_ cold."

"Dad said not to leave."

"He didn't."

Dean sighed.

***

"There, we saw," Dean said, turning his back to the laughing kids, and most importantly turning his back to that longing expression on Sam's face.

"...Maybe if we just...?"

"No, Sam."

Dean walked Sam back and made peanut butter and jelly.

***

"It's gonna be dark soon. The sun's going down."

"So?"

"What's the point in it snowing if we can't even play in it?"

Dean didn't have an answer for that, so he didn't offer one.

***

"It's too dark now."

"I know, genius."

"We're leaving when he gets back."

Dean turned Sam slightly, studied his little face. "...I'm sorry," he said.

"It's not your fault, Dean."

Dean stared at Sam's back as Sam turned and stared out the dark window. In his head, he just _dared_ Sam to say it was their Dad's fault.

He didn't say it. Dean started to figure out what was for dinner.

***

Dean hugged John close, rubbing his back, smiling. Sam hadn't been much trouble while John was out. It had been a nice day. The hunt didn't seem too awful either. 

"Dad, I didn't get to go sledding today either."

"Hm?" John looked over at Sam.

"Dad, I want to try it. Dean's done it before."

Dean said, "Shh."

Sam didn't want to. He frowned at John and went to sit in the chair he'd put by the window. "I hate this place," he said.

Dean gave his dad a squeeze. "Glad you're back, Dad."

***

It was two weeks later, when Sam started to get more insistent, that Dean finally took him out to try and find kids who were sledding. They found a group of kids who were out farther than he wanted to be from where they were staying.

Sam took one long look at the sled as Dean convinced the kids to give them a turn. All of a sudden, Sam blurted out, "Never mind."

Dean stared at him, hoping to God he was joking. "Sammy, don't wimp out now." He'd put up with two weeks of whining about sledding with kids they didn't know, about how fun it would be, how cool it looked, how Dad never let them do anything.

He sat Sam down on the sled himself, sat behind him. And it was nice. Sam closed his eyes the first time, grit his teeth, tensed up, and they slid down, and he said, "Sam?" and tried to figure out how he was.

Sam started to relax. They went down two more times. The wind whipped past them, their stomachs fluttered. It was more fun than Dean had had in a long time, actually. 

"You know, there's a bigger hill we can go on," Amanda said. Her brother nodded. 

Sam tensed up and said, "Dean. Dean, let's go home."

"Naw! Sammy, this is too good to quit now, okay?"

"I have a bad feeling!" said Sam quietly, urgently.

"Well, just wait until we take the hill. One time, okay? Just one time."

"Dean," Sam whined. 

"Look, Sam. We haven't even seen this hill. Let's go. It's not far."

And they started to get in position at the top of the hill. Dean settled in behind Sam. Sam gripped his arm and whispered, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Ready?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah, we're ready!" said Dean.

***

"What the hell were you thinking, Dean?! You were in charge!" 

Dean sniffled and wiped at his nose with his sleeve. 

"I'm so sorry, Dad."

John scrubbed at his face. "Well, sorry's not gonna fix this, Dean. I think it's broken."

And Dean just stared at Sam over the back seat as they headed to the hospital, saw his red eyes and his tears, knew he'd messed up his Dad's hunt and, what was worse, he thought, was that he thought Sam knew it too.

Sam made him sign the cast as soon as they found a marker. It was his first cast, after all. And Dean signed, _Dean._

And then he signed, _Sorry_.

But he crossed it out.


End file.
